New 3820 +$2000 build

[kikovenns]

Hi all, here is my shopping list for a new machine Im building, any help / comments / advice is welcome and appreciated.

THE PARTS

CPU: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz 10MB LGA2011 (Main reason to go with this is the quad-channel memory lines and the 64GB as the max memory supported. Worst thing about it is the TDP130W and the heat it may generate. Power consumption is no issue. Also this will replace a 2600 that never-never works over 50% under actual working conditions so processing power here is plenty. ) http://ark.intel.com/products/63698 )

MOBO: Asus Sabertooth X79 Intel LGA2011 ( http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_2011/SABERTOOTH_X79/#specifications )

RAM: 2x Corsair Vengeance - 32GB 1600MHz PC3-12800 (4x8GB) ( http://www.corsair.com/en/memory-by-product-family/vengeance/vengeance-32gb-quad-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz32gx3m4x1600c10.html )
(for a total of 64GB of ram at 1600 which is the fastest and the max amount the mobo and the cpu will support)


SSD: Corsair Force GT 240GB 2.5" SATA-600 ( http://www.corsair.com/en/ssd/force-series-gt-ssd/force-series-gt-240gb-sata-3-6gbps-solid-state-hard-drive.html )

GRAPHICS: 2x MSI GeForce GTX 560 - 1 GB GDDR5 (I already have 1 of those, the 2 fans version, I want to get a second one and run both of them on the same machine) ( http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N560GTX-M2D1GD5.html )

SCREENS: As for screens, the 2 GTX560 have to drive 4 identical x Samsung Syncmaster2443 24" 1920x1200 screens which I already have.

PSU: Corsair - Enthusiast Modular TX850M - 850 Watt (The system has no blueray/dvd/cd unit and no other hard drive. The PSU only has to power the 3820 (TDP130W, the 2 GTX560 and the SSD.)) ( http://www.corsair.com/enthusiast-series-modular-tx850m-80-plus-bronze-certified-850-watt-high-performance-modular-power-supply.html )

CASE: Im unsure about the case, any suggestions? Something that can hold the 2.5" ssd in place, with good cable management and plenty of fans / ventilation. Design is not important as it will be hidden behind the table out of sight.

MAIN CONCERN

COOLING: My main concern is the heat from the 3820 as it has a TDP of 130W. I think this is asking for some liquid cooling system, but I have never installed one before Im afraid I may get something wrong and destroy the system. Are they difficult to install ? Any model suggestions? Does water cooling needs a special case? Will a normal air cooling be enough to cool 130w of tdp? Thank you.

WHAT IT WILL DO

Finally, this would be my main desktop, replacing a SB2600/16GBram/60GBssd.

I use it mainly for software/database development, and I virtualize a lot. My main bottlenecks with my current system are the SSD (60gb) and the ram (16gb) (both always running at 9x%) as each virtualized system may take anywhere from 1 to 4 GB of ram. Also since I go full screen with the systems, jumping from 2 to 4 screen is going to make a huge difference. Right now I can see the host on 1 screen + 1 virtualized on the other.

I clone/spawn different vm for new projects or to handle some files / sites when I dont want to leave traces of them on the other systems. It helps a lot from a security point of view. Also for performance tuning you can clone an entire system, change 1 variable and watch the results and get very valuable data.

This is not a gaming computer. I may occasionally play ancient games, counter stike 1.6, age of empires 2 with a hack to go full screen on 2 screens, perhaps some minecraft and other really ancient stuff from time to time, Im not into the latest games.

I do no overclocking, my 2600 doesnt have a K on it.

It will run 24/7/365, if go on holidays it stays running as I will remote into it or other people regularly connect to some of the virtualized machines which act as svn development / testing servers for different projects.

My host of is a flavor of Linux

The whole setup is behind a surge spike filter and a ups battery with more surge protection to further shield it.

Any suggestions, comments or help is very much appreciated, thank you all for reading so far and for any comments.

 

[Hagrid]

I would look at the DH-14 for CPU cooling. I guess you will need to order the special parts(?) from Noctua for the 2011 socket.

Ouch! I just looked at the board, yeah the cpu area is tight with memory slots......
Maybe the 212+ would work, but not sure how good any HSF is going to do with the memory you picked. Those fins stick up pretty high.

 

[JustinCorrigible]

COOLING: My main concern is the heat from the 3820 as it has a TDP of 130W. I think this is asking for some liquid cooling system, but I have never installed one before Im afraid I may get something wrong and destroy the system. Are they difficult to install ? Any model suggestions? Does water cooling needs a special case? Will a normal air cooling be enough to cool 130w of tdp? Thank you.[/B]

I purchased a Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro kit when I purchased the CPU (3820) and Mobo (Sabertooth) at MC, and I gotta saw that the temps are pretty good (w/ one fan on rad it's under 30C idle with good airflow and low ambient temps). I haven't checked them under load as I've not pushed the CPU hard at all since purchasing (vacation), but I can't expect them to be bad. Be warned, though, if you install both fans on the radiator, you'll block a couple of your RAM slots, which you'll want for 4 sticks of RAM. You could probably get away with two fans if you can mount the radiator somewhere other than the rear near the I/O panel. That was my only option.

 

[matt9669]

I do no overclocking, my 2600 doesnt have a K on it.

As far as CPU cooling goes, I think you've answered your own question right there. The boxed cooler will be sufficient for stock operation in any decently ventilated case, so while you may want something more, you certainly don't need it. Remember you're not running 100% 24/7 anyway.

That said, if you really want to keep temps low, I'd slap on a Corsair H100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017) and pick a case with room to mount it. You definitely won't have RAM clearance issues that way either. I'm big on silence myself, so here's a suggestion:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5090/antec-p280-when-enthusiasts-are-engineers/1 (Antec P280 review)
Anandtech is a great place to start looking for a case, if that model doesn't suit you they have tons of quality reviews.

Also, since you're already going LGA2011 I'd consider stepping up to the 3930K. I know you're not fully loading your current 2600, but having 6 cores/12 threads means your VMs are more likely to have a core to themselves and that everything will run smoothly. Remember also that more RAM = more VMs = more potential processor load.

Otherwise looks like you're in great shape.

 

[LigTasm]

The TDP is listed at 130w because its a socket 2011, I don't think it comes anywhere near that. My 3820 is nowhere near as hot as my previous 3930k and overclocks much higher. My temps are lower at 4.8ghz than either my 2500k at 4.5ghz or my 3570k at 4.4ghz with the same cooler.

Additionally, I would HIGHLY suggest not going with a ForceGT at this point where drives like the Samsung 830 are getting cheaper. I used ForceGT's for a while and I went through 8 RMA's in 6 months for my pair of drives.

Also, socket 2011 seems to have a difficult time getting unmatched RAM kits to work together at rated speeds (especially 8GB high density modules). Just something to think about.

 

[baldrik]

I second the H100 and stepping up to the 3930K.

 

[needmorecarnitine]

The TDP is listed at 130w because its a socket 2011, I don't think it comes anywhere near that.

Yup. I wouldn't worry about cooling at all (assuming you have at least decent airflow).

Intel stock cooling is fine as Intel wouldn't back it for 3 years if it wasn't.


Other thoughts. Maybe consider low profile ram to keep options open (though I think anything beyond stock in your situation is unnecessary) and maybe consider dropping down to DDR3 1333. The second part is a guess but I figure it may lessen the chance of potential problems considering that you will be using all 8 ram slots.

and maybe even spring for a 2nd motherboard. Don't know how important it is to you to keep this up 24/7 but I would hate for something critical to die on me and have to wait days+ to get it working again. Might be worth the $300+

 

[kikovenns]

@Hagrid

I have check it, it looks impressive but it seems too wide, Im probably going ot have clearance issues. I actually hate the huge fins in memory, but I like that particular memory. I wonder if I could remove the fins on top of it, has anyone manage to do this without breaking the memory? are they soldered into it or just clipped on top?

@JustinCorrigible

The Thermaltake Water 2.0 looks VERY compact. How was the installation process? easy ? is there any tricky step that if you get wrong you spill liquid on everything and ruin expensive hw? Thats my biggest fear. Also, if I may, what case are you using with it?

@matt9669

I may be wrong but Im pretty sure the 3820 doesnt come with a 'free' boxed cooler. So I have to buy something anyway. I have seen the video on the Corsair H100 and it looks very good. Considering the memory clearance issues I think Im going to have to go with liquid cooling so as to reduce any chance of parts not fitting around the procesor.

@LigTasm

Im going to buy the 8 memory sticks at once and have them be the exact same type, that should help.

Ok You are scaring me now about the ForceGT. I have check the handful of store choices I have that I can buy online and one of them offers a Samsung 256GB 830 Series for 5 more bucks that the Samsung. So, the choice seems:

(1) Corsair Force GT 240GB 2.5" SATA-600 Read: Up to 555MB/s - Write: Up to 525MB/s

(2) Samsung 256GB 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Read Max. 520 MB/s Write Max. 400 MB/s

Apart from price, capacity and read/write speed what do you look for in an SSD before deciding? I would value more the read/write speed advantage over the 15GB extras but I have the personal impression (from experience) that SSD lifes are a lot shorter that regular hdd, that said I dont want mine to break within the first 2 years.

@baldrik

Thanks for the suggestions. It is a work computer paid with company money but I dont want to abuse it with a +600 processor. Im reading about the 3930K just to compare

@needmorecarnitine

The 3028 doesnt stock a cooling solution so I have to buy something anyway. I think the fins on the memory are terrible, but I like the memory. I was wondering if the fins can be safely removed from the memory, any experience with this?

If something breaks down I would pull the ssd and plug it into the current work one which should be able to hold it for a few days until a replacement comes.

Thank you all for your suggestions

One final things: noone has said anything about the 2 x MSI GeForce GTX 560 running, will that need any cooling help? The 1 Im running is always at 40C/104F never goes higher than that, Im assuming 2 of them running wont give trouble.

 

[novadaemon]

Good luck getting 8 8gb sticks to run at 1600.

You'll either need to drop to 1333 or boost VCCSA voltage to get 1600 on 8 dimms.

Edit: One more thing. The 3820 is not a true 130w part. It's really more of a 95w part. It's basically the only CPU model that has its own die. the 6 core 2011 CPU's are scaled down 8 cores.

"While the Core i7-3960X and i7-3930K have a transistor count of 2.27 billion and a die size of about 435 mm2, the Core i7-3820 is based around 1.27 billion transistors and a 294 mm2 die - a significant reduction."

The 2600k is 995M transistors. The extra transistors on the 3820 are for the memory controller, extra cache and a few other things, otherwise it's practically the same core as a 2600k. It doesn't even share the same steppings with the 3930k and 3960x.

It will produce less heat. Just as a 3770k is a 77w part but they slapped 95w on it anyway.

 

[needmorecarnitine]

I didn't know it came without a hsf. Anything quality should be able to handle that.

As for removing the memory heatsinks I think it would work but consider that you will be using 8 of them think of the pita it would be to try to track down any problems. If it were me I would go the safe route of using 1333.

 

[ugapug]

Maybe the Force GTs had problems at some point, but I've successfully used about half a dozen of them in various builds including my current machine without a single issue. Just my .02 worth.

 

[teletran8]

That processor OC's actually! Look up some videos on Youtube it all depends on if your Mobo can handle a 125 boot strap (100 is default) the poster said. So since you're getting a WC unit to give your memory more room I'd crank it to 4.2-4.4 because there is ALWAYS a nice sweet spot where you can get an extra 500 or so MHz and temps barely increase imho. The 2011 is a nice platform. Anandshrimpi also made a Video with some historical (Intel) information on Youtube also and explains the OC'ing of the 3820. Somewhat good informative video that runs about 26 minutes. Check into it before you say no to OCing it imho.

560ti is a great card BUT if you run BF3 with a 1GB card expect Low/Medium settings though, even though I think you don't play that game but yeah thought I'd throw that out there XD. FUnny thing is BF3 on low settings looks really good / better compared to Console type games and oldschool stuff imo so you coudl still have a lot of fun with those cards on really any modern game.

 

[cemster]

RAM: 2x Corsair Vengeance - 32GB 1600MHz PC3-12800 (4x8GB) ( http://www.corsair.com/en/memory-by-...4x1600c10.html )
(for a total of 64GB of ram at 1600 which is the fastest and the max amount the mobo and the cpu will support)

Hi I just wanted to point out that when mixing two identical ram sets even the same part# is not suggested, recommended or supported by Corsair. They even have a cute saying:
"EVERY TIME YOU COMBINE MORE THAN 1 SET OF RAM, A KITTEN, 2 PUPPIES AND A BABY PANDA DIES!"

But here is a very recent solution: Even though it is not mentioned in Corsair Site there is a new:
CORSAIR Vengeance 64GB (8 x 8GB) 1600 Model CMZ64GX3M8A1600C9
Timing: 9-9-9-24
Newegg $484.99

 

[DejaWiz]

Hi I just wanted to point out that when mixing two identical ram sets even the same part# is not suggested, recommended or supported by Corsair. They even have a cute saying:
"EVERY TIME YOU COMBINE MORE THAN 1 SET OF RAM, A KITTEN, 2 PUPPIES AND A BABY PANDA DIES!"

But here is a very recent solution: Even though it is not mentioned in Corsair Site there is a new:
CORSAIR Vengeance 64GB (8 x 8GB) 1600 Model CMZ64GX3M8A1600C9
Timing: 9-9-9-24
Newegg $484.99

Yeah, that's Corsair saying that, just as most manufacturers will, because it will typically cause a consumer to spend more money on a single kit like that 8x8GB than twin 4x8GB kits. It's total BS...

Kikovenns:
1. Step up to the 6 core model if you can squeeze the extra money into your budget.
2. Stick with a 256GB Samsung 830, Crucial M4, or Plextor M3.
3. SLI 580's would be nice, but I'd also recommend selling your current 580 while it has some value left in it an setting up to a single 670 or 680...faster performance, runs cooler, and less power draw.
4. For the chassis, I highly recommend the Corsair 400R or 500R.
5. Step up the the AX650 or AX750 PSU (Seasonic X series is internally identical and fully modular, as well).

 

[Relativist]

I would suggest only getting a single RAM kit for now and putting the $ toward video cards, sell your old 1.

 

[cemster]

Yeah, that's Corsair saying that, just as most manufacturers will, because it will typically cause a consumer to spend more money on a single kit like that 8x8GB than twin 4x8GB kits. It's total BS..

I hear what you're saying and I'm not gonnna pretend that I know what I'm talking about... I'm just trying to build a workstation myself with i7-3960X / P9X79 WS and I'm in the process of understanding the ins & outs of RAM so that I can choose some...
So basically I'm trying to get evolved (because it is the only level of understanding that would help me , so that I can understand about the choices I'm gonna be making...

Sorry that was too long.. For short; Through out my obsessive research for a week, it is my understanding that the 'Low Timing' is always good!

If that's the case, I think the $60 difference between 2x32 and 1x64 sets, should be compensated easily with the existing CAS differences...

Corsair Vengeance 32GB 1600MHz 10-10-10-27 $210 X 2 = $420
Corsair Vengeance 64GB 1600MHz ... 9-9-9-24 .................... $480

Also, no matter how much you believe this is just a cooperation mind games to make more money! In the end you have to trust them at some point specially if.....
you're going to use 2 SETS of their hand picked Ram for compatibility... You seem to believe in that at some level, correct? I mean you don't consider getting even cheaper single or dual units and build your self a monster... or a freak...

So if they say they hand picked eight Ram modules to achive parity among them, and if they are half honest when they say they hand picked 4x sets to achive parity, I think I, sorry, We should be okay, don't you think?

And is there any argue about the CAS differences?

Like I said I'm learning, not judging or being sarcastic, or smart ass, well... maybe trying to be a little funny, but mostly just trying to figure out what RAM I should get and move on... )

 

[DejaWiz]

As long as all modules are the same voltage, frequency, and timings, they will work fine with each other.

 

[cemster]

What about the timing differences... Is there a consideration factor in favor of 8x8GB?

 

[DejaWiz]

Nope, not with any SB, IB, or SB-E processor.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

MAIN CONCERN

COOLING: My main concern is the heat from the 3820 as it has a TDP of 130W. I think this is asking for some liquid cooling system, but I have never installed one before Im afraid I may get something wrong and destroy the system. Are they difficult to install ? Any model suggestions? Does water cooling needs a special case? Will a normal air cooling be enough to cool 130w of tdp? Thank you.

I wouldn't be too worried about the TDP.

If you look at the other Sandy Bridge-E CPU's you'll see that they all have TDP's of 130W, even the top end hexacore extreme model.

You need to understand what TDP really means in this case. TDP stands for thermal design power. it is a number that Intel gives OEM vendors as a target number for them to design their cooling off. It is NOT an actual measurement, but rather a statement of "if you have a cooler that can handle this,you should be OK".

Oftentimes what happens is that they do the TDP validation on the top end model, as it is released first, and then they release lower end models afterwards and don't feel the need to revalidate the TDP, after all, a TDP that's good enough for the 6 core version, will be good enough for the 4 core version, right?

So, don't worry about the TDP number.

If you look at this chart, you'll see that with all cores fully loaded, the i7-3820 doesn't use much more power than the 2700K, and power consumptioin is a much better predictor of heat than TDP numbers.

Some more numbers for comparison purposes (keep in mind base system is different, so total system or at the wall numbers aren't Directly comparable, but still give you an idea)

(top bars are overclocked, bottom bars are stock, looks like the [H]'s testbed was drawing ~40-50 more watts than the Xbit labs one, so adjust accordingly for direct comparison)

I think it's safe to say that a stock i7-3820 draws less power at load than a stock i7-920, which really isn't that tough to cool. I had a tiny 80mm heatpipe cooler on mine (in a shuttle XPC case) for a couple of years without overheating issues.

Now, as far as water cooling goes.

Keep in mind that you don't have to go all custom water loop just to get water-type cooling.

Have you considered a sealed system, like the Corsair H80 or H100?

These are super easy to install, (not much different than installing a traditional heatsink, actually easier as the CPU blocks are smaller, you just have to also screw the heatsink to an available fan slot on your case) and you don't have to worry about filling water in your system , bonding tubes, leaks, etc. as it is all in a pre-made sealed system, with warranty that covers all your components should anything ever go wrong.

This is what I would recommend.

 

[LigTasm]

Just want to put this up for consideration, I cranked my 3820 to 5.2ghz with 16GB of RAM and 5.0ghz with 32GB and my highest temp was 72*C with an H100. Highest temp recieved with P95 blend, IBT was 4-5*C lower.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Just want to put this up for consideration, I cranked my 3820 to 5.2ghz with 16GB of RAM and 5.0ghz with 32GB and my highest temp was 72*C with an H100. Highest temp recieved with P95 blend, IBT was 4-5*C lower.

1.) Keep in mind that SB-E's max temp is supposed to be 70C, we don't get the 100C like we used to with Bloomfield.

2.) That's really weird that Prime 95 produced HIGHER temps than Intel burn Test. On every CPU I've ever tested, Intel Burn test always produced 5-10C higher max temps than Prime 95...

 

[LigTasm]

1.) Keep in mind that SB-E's max temp is supposed to be 70C, we don't get the 100C like we used to with Bloomfield.

2.) That's really weird that Prime 95 produced HIGHER temps than Intel burn Test. On every CPU I've ever tested, Intel Burn test always produced 5-10C higher max temps than Prime 95...

SB-E max temp is 91*C, and the 3820 is supposedly a little higher than that.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

SB-E max temp is 91*C, and the 3820 is supposedly a little higher than that.

I've read 72.6°C as max temp for SB-E over and over again in multiple places. I've also seem some throttling kick in just above that...

 

[LigTasm]

I've read 72.6°C as max temp for SB-E over and over again in multiple places. I've also seem some throttling kick in just above that...

Thats not the max temp, thats Tcase max. SB-E throttles at 91*C, I know from first-hand experience applying indigo extreme to a 3930k. The 3820 I've had as high as 90*C with no throttling, supposedly because its only a quad-core it can go up to 95*C but I haven't seen any proof of that nor have I tried it.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Thats not the max temp, thats Tcase max. SB-E throttles at 91*C, I know from first-hand experience applying indigo extreme to a 3930k. The 3820 I've had as high as 90*C with no throttling, supposedly because its only a quad-core it can go up to 95*C but I haven't seen any proof of that nor have I tried it.

Interesting. I stand corrected.

Still have never seen a Prime 95 max temp be hotter than a Intel Burn Test max temp.

 

[LigTasm]

Interesting. I stand corrected.

Still have never seen a Prime 95 max temp be hotter than a Intel Burn Test max temp.

I was surprised too, but I only used standard RAM on IBT so maybe thats why? I forgot to set it to 90%. I know thayt 72*C temp you're talking about, its the one on the intel page. I wish they would list the temp where the chip actually throttles as well as TJmax and Tcase Max.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I was surprised too, but I only used standard RAM on IBT so maybe thats why? I forgot to set it to 90%. I know thayt 72*C temp you're talking about, its the one on the intel page. I wish they would list the temp where the chip actually throttles as well as TJmax and Tcase Max.

Yeah, I thought I had seen throttling at like 75, but maybe I was just remembering it incorrectly.

Its interesting though, cause I stopped my OC attempts at 4.6Ghz as I was getting too close to 70C, thinking that was the max. I may have to revisit my OC now

 

[LigTasm]

Yeah, I thought I had seen throttling at like 75, but maybe I was just remembering it incorrectly.

Its interesting though, cause I stopped my OC attempts at 4.6Ghz as I was getting too close to 70C, thinking that was the max. I may have to revisit my OC now

Yeah, go for it. That thing won't throttle to 91*C, although I like to keep them under 75*C just for peace of mind.

 

[cemster]

Nope, not with any SB, IB, or SB-E processor.

Okay you need to enlighten me up! I am evolving remember...

Do you mean SB= Sandy Bridge SB-E= SB extreme (LGA2011) and IB= I have no idea..
Google didn't reveal me anything..

So are you saying that with i7- there is no point of OC?!
Is that why a Ram set with 9-9-9-24 latency wouldn't make any difference
over a Ram set with 10-10-10-27 latency?

(I know 3960X is locked.. But even then isn't there something called Turbo Boost which means like Boy scout OC?

Thank you helping me out towards Nirvana here... )

 

[LigTasm]

Okay you need to enlighten me up! I am evolving remember...

Do you mean SB= Sandy Bridge SB-E= SB extreme (LGA2011) and IB= I have no idea..
Google didn't reveal me anything..

So are you saying that with i7-3960X there is no point of OC?!
Is that why a Ram set with 9-9-9-24 latency wouldn't make any difference
over a Ram set with 10-10-10-27 latency?

Faster RAM past 1600mhz has no real effect on anything besides synthetic benchmarks. Timings are much more important to SB/IB.

SB = Sandy Bridge, socket 1155 2nd gen core processors (P6x, Z6x, H6x chipsets)

IB = Ivy Bridge, socket 1155 3rd gen core processorm, 22nm die shrink of SB with some graphics improvements (Z7x, H7x, Q7x chipsets)

SB-E = Sandy Bridge Extreme, socket 2011 version of SB (same basic cores, X79 chipset, more PCI-E lanes, quad channel RAM)

 

[bAMtan2]

I use it mainly for software/database development, and I virtualize a lot. My main bottlenecks with my current system are the SSD (60gb) and the ram (16gb) (both always running at 9x%) as each virtualized system may take anywhere from 1 to 4 GB of ram. Also since I go full screen with the systems, jumping from 2 to 4 screen is going to make a huge difference.

the proper solution to your problem is a workstation like HP Z420. the combination of memory and threads and virtualization support means you want a e5-1620, and you want the 64GB ECC. and if you find your 8 threads get used up right now, go with the next cpu up for 12 threads. you can approximate such a machine with off the shelf parts, but it will take some reading.

and since you have money to spend, you'd be hard pressed to justify any ssd without a 5 year warranty and sized to leave lots of excess space. there is a short list of ssds where the manufacturer is so confident that they offer 5 year warranty. get one of those with 2x the space you think you need. 100% margin will cost you another couple hundred bucks, peanuts.

if I were you I'd be hard pressed to justify anything other than an intel 520. the price and performance don't vary enough in the high end for you to choose anyone other than the titans, samsung or intel for your ssd. I'm adventurous so I'd be tempted to be the one with his vertex 4 crashing at the worst possible moment, or buying a plextor m5 pro just for fun to see what it is like. but you want a new work machine, not a new play machine. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD/263

 

[GigabyteZ]

Why run SLI if you aren't gaming?

 

[serpretetsky]

Why run SLI if you aren't gaming?

I don't think his is planning on SLI, I think he just wants 4 monitor support. Although i'm not sure why he's getting another 560 for that.

 

[Dan_D]

The TDP is listed at 130w because its a socket 2011, I don't think it comes anywhere near that. My 3820 is nowhere near as hot as my previous 3930k and overclocks much higher. My temps are lower at 4.8ghz than either my 2500k at 4.5ghz or my 3570k at 4.4ghz with the same cooler.

Additionally, I would HIGHLY suggest not going with a ForceGT at this point where drives like the Samsung 830 are getting cheaper. I used ForceGT's for a while and I went through 8 RMA's in 6 months for my pair of drives.

Also, socket 2011 seems to have a difficult time getting unmatched RAM kits to work together at rated speeds (especially 8GB high density modules). Just something to think about.

I've had 4 Force GT's. One DOA and the other three are fine.

 

[Dan_D]

Okay you need to enlighten me up! I am evolving remember...

Do you mean SB= Sandy Bridge SB-E= SB extreme (LGA2011) and IB= I have no idea..
Google didn't reveal me anything..

So are you saying that with i7- there is no point of OC?!
Is that why a Ram set with 9-9-9-24 latency wouldn't make any difference
over a Ram set with 10-10-10-27 latency?

(I know 3960X is locked.. But even then isn't there something called Turbo Boost which means like Boy scout OC?

Thank you helping me out towards Nirvana here... )

Memory latencies have never effected the Intel platform like it did on the old Athlon 64 chips. It does have some minor impact, but even with integrated memory controllers, the difference isn't huge. I would not be concerned about latencies. You'd never even be able to detect a difference and anything that showed up in a benchmark would likely be within the 3% margin of error or variance commonly associated with such testing. Though the memory clock speed doesn't make a huge difference outside of synthetic benchmarks anyway, so pick your poison.

The Cire i7 3960X and Core i7 3930K are multiplier unlocked. The Core i7 3820 isn't, but it can be overclocked via adjustable strap settings for the base clock. Honestly, I've never cared for the 3820 and consider it pointless. I know you want the extra memory support that comes with X79 over Z77 and that's fine. Overclocking isn't going to be necessary if you aren't really gaming on the machine. And even if you were, stock speeds will generally be fine. It's only in multi-monitor and multi-GPU systems on the ultra high end of the scale where clock speeds make that much of a difference. And all that will do in your case is increase the power consumption of the CPU which throws the 130watt TDP out the window. Which BTW is closer to 90w or 100w in practical applications. And that's nothing, back in the day those of us with Skulltrail setups often cooled dual quad core Core 2 Extreme QX9775's CPUs with 150watt TDP's on air. I'd go for a Corsair H80 or H100 for cooling and never worry about heat on a 3820. Ever.

Maybe the Force GTs had problems at some point, but I've successfully used about half a dozen of them in various builds including my current machine without a single issue. Just my .02 worth.

I'm happy with mine so far.

 

[Dan_D]

Double post.

 

[RamonGTP]

Hi I just wanted to point out that when mixing two identical ram sets even the same part# is not suggested, recommended or supported by Corsair. They even have a cute saying:
"EVERY TIME YOU COMBINE MORE THAN 1 SET OF RAM, A KITTEN, 2 PUPPIES AND A BABY PANDA DIES!"

But here is a very recent solution: Even though it is not mentioned in Corsair Site there is a new:
CORSAIR Vengeance 64GB (8 x 8GB) 1600 Model CMZ64GX3M8A1600C9
Timing: 9-9-9-24
Newegg $484.99

I've a lot of panda's, kittens and puppies in that case. I'll continue killing them until it actually causes a problem.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

The Cire i7 3960X and Core i7 3930K are multiplier unlocked. The Core i7 3820 isn't, but it can be overclocked via adjustable strap settings for the base clock.

I played around with the strap settings on my 3930K for shits and giggles and could never get it rock stable. probably needs a boost in a different voltage than I am used to playing with when it comes to multiplier overclocking.

 

[LigTasm]

I played around with the strap settings on my 3930K for shits and giggles and could never get it rock stable. probably needs a boost in a different voltage than I am used to playing with when it comes to multiplier overclocking.

I tried straps on the hex cores as well and they don't seem to like them very much. The 3820 loves 125 though, I've used two and both made it over 5ghz easily.